


All Work and No Play

by sadyshea



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-17
Updated: 2013-01-17
Packaged: 2017-11-25 20:12:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/642533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadyshea/pseuds/sadyshea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is a senior in high school while Louis is a young student teacher who is helping in Mr. Sander’s English class, which Harry happens to be in. Both boys feel an instant connection, even if neither of them know why. This story chronicles their experience together from March 18th until Harry’s graduation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Harry Styles was a schoolboy. That’s all he was. A senior. Just like any other student. And yet, Louis Tomlinson, the teacher’s assistant, couldn’t seem to get the certain curly haired student out of his mind. He knew his interest in Harry was extremely inappropriate but who could resist those gorgeous eyes and charming smirk? Louis should be able to. He needs to be able to. But every time Harry enters the classroom, Louis becomes trapped again.

But let’s take this infatuation back to the beginning…

March. 18th- Just an ordinary Thursday at school, until Mr. Tomlinson enters the picture

Harry trampled into the classroom, boisterous as ever, trailing behind two troublemaker friends: Naill Horan and Zayn Malik. The trio had been friends forever; they were totally inseparable. Zayn was the ‘bad boy’ known for sneaking out between classes to smoke a cigarette, Niall was the ‘class clown’ who was never seen without a smile upon his lips and last but not least was Harry, the formerly sensitive and shy boy turned prankster. It was a rumor that Harry was a closeted genius and had skipped a grade a couple years back but no one could prove it now, Harry’s dreadful report card was evidence enough of that.

Mr. Sanders sat at his desk, massaging his temples, as the slew of students entered his teaching area. It exhausted him daily how disrespectful his pupils had become over the last couple years. No doubt that this was a product of how teens were being portrayed in today’s media: forever the rebel! And this theory meant one thing, your teacher wasn’t your helpful friend anymore, he was your sworn enemy. He had been teaching for thirty years and he had never seen such displays of hooliganism, pranks and downright stupidity that he had seen this past year.

This particular class left much to be desired with Niall, Zayn and Harry in it. They seemed to be the creators of the madness that had spread across the school lately. Daily, they were the prime example of what Mr. Sanders loathed about his present students. He was a teacher of English and none of them to have any real respect for speaking the English language, nor for reading it. The essays the troublesome trio (as he liked to refer to them) were borderline obscene. Students these days liked to integrate things like ‘ya, know, man?’, ‘bat-shit crazy’ and other sequences of words that had no literary value to Mr. Sanders.

When he had received the offer to have a ‘student teacher’ or ‘teacher’s assistant’ volunteer in his classroom, he accepted immediately. A fresh face might finally get the students to pay some attention to his class, and it also meant less marking for him to do at the end of the day. He had sorted through a bevy of applications and one immediately stood out him: Louis Tomlinson. The boy was only twenty-one and had already completed three novels and two plays and was currently in university to become an English teacher. It gave Mr. Sanders some hope still for the generation. He contacted Louis immediately and arranged for Louis to come into the classroom the following Thursday during D-block. He anticipated Louis would be the perfect match for his unruly class with the troublesome trio.

Once the class was settled and the bell had rung, there was light knock on the door. The students’ attention quickly turns to the door and whispers begin to speculate who might be behind it.

The principal?…. A parent?….

“Maybe it’s the police, come to take Zayn away for his unhealthy addiction to cigarettes!” Harry called out, garishly.

Mr. Sanders simply rolled his eyes at the outburst, while the rest of the class giggled and laughed. But the silence returned as another knock sounded on the door.

Mr. Sanders chuckled at how well Louis already captivated the class better than he ever had. He sauntered over to the door, letting the class dance with anticipation before swung it open.

Mr. Sanders smiled brightly at the young writer turned teacher’s assistant as Louis smiled back at his new mentor. He was nervous as hell, Mr. Sanders could tell, but maybe that would serve him well in terms of energy. Louis presented himself modestly, well dressed but in muted colors and with a smart pair of glasses. The only thing that truly revealed his youth was his shaggy hair that Mr. Sanders couldn’t help but smirk at. It kept his boyishness about him, which would serve him positively, as well. He was the pure definition of ‘cool teacher’.

Mr. Sanders welcomed Louis into the classroom with a wave of his arm. That’s when Harry saw Louis for the first time, and his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. Harry was automatically shocked at his reaction. He was the ladies man of the school, always had been, so why was this perfect stranger stirring something inside of him? He heard several girls begin to gush about how ‘sexy’ and ‘quietly handsome’ the intruder was. Maybe that was just it. Harry didn’t like a rival. He was just being protective of his player status. The girls of the school were his, not whoever this new student was.

“Who’s the frickin’ bookworm?” Zayn asked, nudging Harry in the ribs.

“Dunno. But he sure looks like a pansy.” Harry wasn’t discrete about his answer for a reason. He wanted a reaction for the new guy and he got one when the guy almost tripped on his own feet at what he had heard.

“Perfect, he’s clumsy too.” Harry taunted obnoxiously, but halfway through the sentence, he faltered. He was glad that the class’s reaction covered his dispassionate tone.

The guy looked at him straight in the eyes and smiled. After Harry had basically outwardly made fun of him, he had a stupid smile on his face. Something flickered inside Harry that he decided to call hatred because he was afraid of what the guy was kicking up in him.

What the hell is going on with me?, Harry thought.

All he wanted to do was smile along with the stupid guy at the front of the class but instead he decided to pretend to ignore his presence by doing a deep analysis of his desk surface. This was the only way he could hide the fierce red that lingered presently on his cheeks.

“This, class, is Mr. Louis Tomlinson. He is your new teacher’s assistant. I hope that you give him the same attention and respect that you give to me.” Mr. Sanders introduced the guy and everyone’s face displayed some form of shock, as everyone was sure they were getting a new member of the class instead of a teacher. Harry was surprised but continued to study his desk with a seemingly deep passion.

“You can just call me, Louis and don’t worry about the respect thing, I get enough abuse from my peers at Uni for being the youngest in the class. So, I’m used to it.” Louis joked, shrugging his shoulders in indifference.

The class burst out laughing at his remark. Harry couldn’t help but join along. Mr. Sanders knew that Louis was a natural from the class’s positive reaction. He even noticed Harry paying more attention than he usually did, which was a surprise. That’s when he came up with a brilliant idea: Louis could tutor Harry. With Harry’s barely passing grade, he knew that he could pressure the lad to accept.

After the somewhat successful lesson on Shakespeare’s Othello, Mr. Sanders realized Louis was the perfect fit for the class. His sarcastic but insightful remarks were exactly what was needed to keep the class interested in the Shakespeare. He made the language jump to life as he interpreted it in a modern format, comparing it to the likes of ‘Jersey Shore’ and other pop culture references. Louis was the breath of fresh air that Mr. Sanders’ D-block English class needed and Mr. Sanders was delighted to have Louis in his classroom.

As the bell signaled the end of the day, Mr. Sanders called both Louis and Harry over his desk. This somewhat made Louis feel like a student again, but he didn’t mind much. The class had been nothing more than thrilling and he couldn’t wait to come back again tomorrow.

“Harry, I have decided to enlist Louis here as your English tutor. No objections, please. Your grade needs boosting if you want to pass this course and I think Louis just might be the answer to this.” Mr. Sanders explained and both young men stood with jaws slacked.

Harry didn’t protest. He was tired of doing so. His ‘bad ass’/’rebel’ caricature was tiresome and sometimes he just wanted to be himself. Keeping up his school persona was exhausting and although he didn’t need a tutor, because all studies came naturally to him, he accepted the deal. The rumors were true: Harry was nothing short of a genius. But geniuses don’t have friends. So, when he skipped a grade in middle school (he had refused to skip any more), he decided to start fresh. He had created his ‘at-school Harry’ character that consisted of sticking it to the man (the teacher, being the ‘man’), not seemingly caring about grades and other things that made him seem obnoxiously below average. Within days, he had a whole new group of friends and while to keep it up was tiresome, he decided his new group of friends was worth it.

“Sounds good, I guess.” Louis agreed to it, half-heartedly. He had been warned many times about developing a relationship outside of school with a student. Louis had been drawn in by Harry the moment he saw him. Something about the guy was mysterious and he wasn’t a kid anymore. Louis shook his head, clearing his mind of the inappropriate thoughts. He was probably only three years older than the student that just made it even weirder for him. He had dated guys Harry’s age in the past but this was about being professional, so Louis decided to focus on all of Harry’s flaws from then on.

As Mr. Sanders dismissed the two with a simple wave of his hand, they wandered awkwardly into the hallway, neither of them truly understanding the bond they felt with the other.

“So… I guess I should give you my e-mail or something.” Louis muttered, staring at everything but Harry.

Harry almost laughed at how ridiculous Louis was acting before he handed the student teacher a slip of paper.

“S’later. Call me.” Harry said, before retreating down the hallway.

Louis was dumbfounded. Had Harry just openly given him his number? Then, Louis gave himself a big ol’ slap on the forehead. He really was still very naïve for his twenty- years. The kid gave him his number so that he could call him to arrange a time for their tutoring session. Louis sighed and stashed the number into his pocket before turning in the opposite direction down the hallway.

Harry peeked out from his hiding spot with a satisfied look on his face. He liked to play games. And this was just another game. Right? But this game was different, it actually excited him. He wouldn’t deny that. The rest of his game were held during school hours when he played Mr. ‘Too cool for you’ for all of the girls of the school. The girls couldn’t get enough of it, Harry had noticed. If it garnered him more attention, then why not continue to play that game? He liked to toy with the girl’s emotions, to even sometimes manipulate them into being at odds with each other. He later regretted it and felt guilty in his hours of reflection at home. He rarely interacted with anyone outside of school hours because the seven hours spent there were already so exhausting. He always had to make excuses about being forced to participate in extra circulars that he ‘loathed’ but he actually quite enjoyed his piano and violin lessons. They made him feel like an intellectual for once instead of pretending to be a daft idiot.

But, it was as if once the school bell had rung, the real Harry had re-surfaced, the one who was very interested in a certain Mr. Tomlinson.


	2. Chapter Two

March 21st

I’m free today. Around 5pm? Let’s meet at the Starbucks in the middle of town.

-H

Louis looked down at his phone as he was marking the latest homework assignment for Mr. Sanders’ D-block class. He was halfway through the stack of mediocre papers when he read the text from Harry. The communication was by text and still Harry had Louis’s heart racing.

“Who’s the text from? Your new man?” Liam, Louis’s roommate, teased, flicking his friend in the head as he entered the kitchen area.

He continued on past the table Louis was working at and threw open the fridge. For being such a gym junkie, Liam could sure eat. He always seemed to be in the kitchen, preparing food or cleaning up after a meal he had just demolished. As it was the largest part of their flat, Louis and Liam did most of their bonding there. Liam and Louis had met in university, where Liam was training to be a physiotherapist. He loved everything to do with the human body and constantly loved to tell Louis of his newest physical discoveries. It was nauseatingly boring for Louis, who didn’t care much about physical activity, not only did he rather read a book than work out, he was naturally skinny anyway.

Louis sighed and then explained the situation to Liam, so no more teasing would occur: “No new man. A student.”

Liam turned toward Louis with a skeptical look on his face and half of a sub sandwich in his hand, mustard was strewn across his lips. “Isn’t that… against the rules or whatever?” He asked. For someone who could list every bone in the human anatomy at the drop of the hat, Liam could sound as uneducated as some of the kids in Louis’s class presently. Well, not his class. Mr. Sanders’ class.

“Liam! We’re not… involved. Mr. Sanders, my mentor, asked me to help out one of the kids in his class who’s struggling with the subject. It’s totally professional. I mean, I tried to give the kid my e-mail but then he just shoved his number into my hand and walked away.” Louis protested, desperately. If Liam got the feeling that Louis and Harry were anything more than just teacher-student, how easy would it be for anyone else to figure it out? Louis really had to get over his stupid juvenile crush before it cost him his career. He also like Harry as a person and really didn’t want to do anything to make their relationship even a little weird.

“Oh… so you, like, tutor him?” Liam asked, leaning his elbows down onto the table so he was at Louis’s eye level. Liam began to wiggle his eyebrows and tried to make tutor into something suggestive. Louis shook his head at how little sense his friend liked to make.

Louis objected, fuming with frustration at the misunderstanding: “Stop it, will you? Just because he gave me his number does not mean he wants me to be anything more than a teacher’s assistant to him. To even suggest a thing like that is, well…”

“Beyond your wildest dreams?” Liam squealed before making his retreat. He ran out of the room, cackling like some immature little school girl who just learned the BIGGEST SECRET EVER, except in reality she knew nothing at all. Louis threw pen at his friend’s head, in complete vain, because with his lack of experience with sports, he had absolutely no hand-eye coordination or aim.

As the pen hit a wall, Louis felt like he was going to shatter along with the inanimate writing utensil. Was he seriously that easy to read? He had practically avoided Harry at all costs in class the last couple days and Harry seemed just fine with it. Louis didn’t see the flirty spark that Harry displayed once the bell had rung again and that was just fine with him. He didn’t even know what he would do if Harry pulled that in front of Mr. Sanders or the class, he’d probably blush tellingly and Louis would be kicked out on the spot.

At first, Louis had thought that Harry was playing around with him to get him in trouble; he had expected at least a wink or something suggestive in class, to catch him off guard. He had heard Mr. Sanders’s warning about Harry’s prankster tendencies and he didn’t want to end up the punch line of one of Harry’s jokes. But either Harry was timing it out well, or the messing with Louis’s head was a one-time thing. Louis had watched Harry’s behavior with his peers, especially with Niall and Zayn, constantly working out how to get the next laugh and attention of everyone around him.

It seemed like a lot of effort to Louis, he had never been like that in high school, in some much desperate need of approval by his peers. That’s probably why he was where he was at such a young age: the curse and luck of a teenage loner. He barely had any friends outside of the creative writing club, but he always watched people. It was one of his favorite pastimes; he would hide in the shade of the oak tree in the corner of the courtyard and observe the insanity of the student body. It was thrilling and so telling of how insecure humans actually are. Always pretending to be something else, to hide who they were: it disappointed Louis that Harry was playing the high school ‘cool’ when he was clearly afraid to show his true identity.

Louis had accepted he was gay a long time ago, although only a small part of who he was, it seemed to make a big difference to the people around him. He lost friends, gained some respect from his parents for being to brave to come out when he was only sixteen years old and some dirty looks in the hallways (and even some cautiously curious ones from others who were probably speculating about their own sexuality). But, Louis was proud of who he was and thought little of what how other’s perceived him because that wasn’t their jobs, they didn’t see like he did. Louis saw through people even if he couldn’t tell exactly what was ‘off’ with most people, he could sense that some people were hiding more than others. The less they hid, the more he respected them. And Louis knew Harry was deep in hiding. That’s probably what intrigued him the most about the guy.

But the intrigue needed to stop. The constant speculation of everything the teen did. It bordered on stalkerish. Louis shook his head at the awful word choice; maybe Liam was beginning to rub off on him.

Louis finally picked up the phone after a certain boy with chestnut brown, curly hair had again plagued his thoughts. He responded with:

Sounds good. I will be there.

-Lou

Louis had barely put down his phone as a response text appeared from Harry. That was pretty damn fast, teens these days, Louis thought. He then burst out laughing at how much an old man he had just sounded like when he had been a teenager only just two years before.

I’ll order us drinks. I’m already here anyway. What do you want?

-H

Louis was baffled. He assumed that Harry would be caught up after school, with his friends or at least with some sort of video game. But no, the guy who was constantly surrounded by people at school was at Starbucks alone. By choice. This made Louis’s head spin with new questions, but he shelved them and answered:

Grande soy with mocha. No whip. Please and thank you. …Do you want me to just come now?

-Lou

Louis had barely enough to blink before Harry’s response made his phone buzz again:

Sure. The drink will be waiting for you when you arrive. ;)

-H

Louis groaned at the winky face. There Harry went being all suggestive again, making Louis’s mind race with confusion because he was probably reading too much into things. But it didn’t matter either way; Louis could not and would not fraternize with a student. It just wasn’t going to happen. It comforted him that they would be in public, he could distract himself by people watching as Harry worked instead of just staring at him and his beautiful eyes…

God damnit, Louis! He chastised himself, as he grabbed his coat and slipped on his loafers before heading out into the London chill.

Harry laughed at the lack of response he received from Louis. He knew that the wink had probably been a bit much, but he couldn’t help himself. He was a self-proclaimed flirt and Louis made it way too damn easy.

“A grande soy white mocha, no whip, and my usual, please.” Harry ordered, as he handed the barista his credit card.

He yawned and thought back on the last couple days in class with Louis. He could always feel his teacher assistant’s eyes watching him. He didn’t mind be observed, being evaluated, it made him feel like a topic. Topics are important. Basically, it made Harry feel special. Even though he was in ‘school Harry’ mode on the outside, Louis’s gaze made the real Harry on the inside twitch with excitement. It made it easier to get through the treacherous hours of role-playing that Harry usually did.

When the drinks finally came up, Harry collected them and returned to his seat with an empty seat across from him. It was nerve wracking but also thrilling to imagine Louis sitting in the seat across from him. He usually drank his coffee alone and having someone to enjoy it with, well, the idea of that made Harry’s cheeks warm.

“Harry?” Louis’s voice and close proximity woke Harry from his train of thought and he let out a startled sound. Louis chuckled softly at the reaction.

“Well, you looked deep in thought. It would be more encouraging for you to look that concentrated in class more often.” Louis teased as he sat down across from Harry.

Harry blushed. He had been caught in the act, by the very object of his affections. But, he played it off casually by remarking, “Maybe if we learned more interesting things in class, I could put this brain to work on something more riveting than the theme of feminism in Othello.”

Louis rolled his eyes at Harry’s sass but appreciated the healthy banter, it wasn’t the same disrespectful tone Harry used in class, it was something that sounded much more educated and whole hearted than that. “I don’t really care what you want to learn about, Mr. Styles. It’s called a curriculum and it has to be followed. It’s there for a reason.” Louis responded, professionally. He didn’t want Harry to interpret their meeting as anything more than it was: a simple tutoring session. Not a coffee date.

“Whoa. Sorry Mr. Tight ass teacher. Oh and by the way, you’re welcome for the drink.” Harry snapped. Why the hell was Louis patronizing him? He was clearly more intelligent than the ‘playwright’ across from him. He had no right to talk down to Harry when he was still just a student himself. That’s when Harry realized what he was so upset: Louis wasn’t playing the game. He was playing the serious and professional card. Harry simply didn’t approve of this card. But, he didn’t want Louis to think of him as a stubborn little twat, so he decided to give in. Anyway, all play and no work gives Harry a failing grade. As much as he wanted to continue their match, Harry knew that Louis needed to do his job and well, that just meant he would have to feign a breakthrough. In reality, Harry loved Othello. It was his favorite Shakespeare tragedy and he knew it like the back of his hands. Only in class he was obligated to seem in pain at every moment he was chosen to read a part when inside he was really enjoying every moment of it.

Louis felt bad for a minute, as Harry was clearly upset with him. He didn’t mean to address Harry the way he did, it was just that Harry was being so god damn distracting. “I’m sorry, Harry. Thanks for the drink. I mean, really, I hate being the bad guy here. I know this is painful for you but we have to do it. I’m here for you, man and all I want to do is help you. Friends?” Louis suggested, offering out a hand to Harry.

As Harry took his hand, Louis knew he was doing the right thing. Not indulging in Harry’s flirty nonsense but also just having a common ground. There needed to be no extremes they were meeting somewhere right in the middle.

As their hands separated, Harry sipped at his drink as Louis opened up the Othello script and poured over the scene questions. He began to drill Harry on questions that he knew like the back of his hand, but Harry had to feign ignorance to continue their meetings, so he answered them as vaguely and hesitantly as he could. Louis seemed to be impressed by the amount that he was getting correct.

At the end of the session, Louis got up and thanked Harry again for the drink and assured him that his progress would develop as their sessions continued.

“Text me when your free for another session, ok, Haz?” Louis asked, unable to stop himself as the nickname slipped through his lips.

It delighted Harry but he played it down by smirking at Louis. Louis was clearly blushing. “Yah, yah. See yah at school.” He answered, dismissively.

Louis nodded anxiously before escaping out of the store. He shook his head at the slip up he had just made and in defeat, made his way home.

Inside, Harry smiled. He could work with this. Friends do work. And then comes play…


	3. Chapter Three

March 27th

Harry, Niall and Zayn sat at their desks, deep in thought. They were plotting their new prank and needed a quiet place to do it. That meant arriving early to English class, so early that neither Louis nor Mr. Sanders were even there yet. Zayn had bribed the janitor with two cigarettes to open up the classroom. Even though it always freaked Harry out to be in the midst of breaking the rules, he played it cool anyway. He had to keep up appearances as the rebel ringleader but made sure never to actually get his hands dirty. Although he had to manipulate Niall and Zayn to do so, he reminded himself it was for his own best interest. Zayn and Niall had messed up enough that their school record was already tarnished while Harry’s was still squeaky clean besides a few comments on his snarky behavior. There had always been warnings but Harry made sure there was never any evidence to get him to any real trouble.

“Ok. So we are going to attack the left part of the overpass first with the rats. And then whose who try to escape will be met with the cooking oil and last but not least: the fire extinguisher foam at the very end.” Zayn explained their plan aloud, triumphantly.

Harry tried not to roll his eyes at how enthusiastic his two best friends were getting about the preliminary grad prank. As dumb as it was, it was inspiring how passionate they were about bringing destruction to their school. Their hatred for it stemmed from their lack of grade performance and how patronizing teachers could be about that fact. Report card comments were poison: Zayn and Niall having always been affected by them. Harry understood their passion: they simply wanted vengeance. But instead of doing it in an intelligent and inside job kind of way, they liked to see catastrophic results instead. They’d rather pull down the school as a whole than target their enemies as individuals, which in retrospect, was probably a respectful gift to the teachers. With all the venom that Niall and Zayn had in their hearts, the teachers would be no match against their claws.

“I’m on oil duty and herding duty. My mom is a cupponer and has enough oil for the school to drown in. She won’t miss just a bit of it.” Niall explained, pointing to his posts on the map that Zayn had drawn up.

Harry noticed how talented Zayn was at drawing every time he designed a new floor plan for their pending scheme. Harry thought his friend had some real talent and could probably go into university for art or something of the likes. He had subtly suggested it once and Zayn had had none of it. ‘I’m not going to university’, Zayn had objected, ‘I’m tired of teacher’s bullshit and I am not going on to uni to have to pay for it!’. Fair case, Harry had thought.

“And I’ve got the fire extinguisher part cus I’ve figured out how to jimmy it open without setting the alarm off.” Zayn exclaimed proudly of his triumph. He’d been working the lock for over a month now and to commend him, Harry gave me a supportive clap on the back.

“Which means you have to open the rats cage. You get to spark the fire!” Niall cried, clapping his hands together in utter glee.

Harry didn’t like this plan anymore. He wasn’t supposed to get caught in the crossfire; all he did was promote the troublemaking. He fueled the fire (Niall and Zayn’s passion), he didn’t spark it. He hesitated for a moment but when he saw the intent look on Zayn and Niall’s face, he crumbled entirely.

“Sounds like the best plan yet. Good planning, Niall, and Zayn, your blueprints, talk about immaculate.” Harry complimented and the boys smiled positively after Harry’s momentary lapse.

Harry needed to stop hesitating on things like this if he wanted to keep his mask on straight. It seemed to be harder with every passing day, especially with the tutoring sessions that Louis and he were holding. They were practically meeting every second day, although Harry always initiated them. He figured it was part of Louis’s need to keep the relationship professional, if Harry always made the decisions on where and when to meet, he couldn’t be held responsible for anything… inappropriate that happened. It would all be on Harry. But the curly haired senior didn’t mind, Louis’s reluctance only made the game even more engaging for him.

“So, after school. Today. It’s the perfect time.” Zayn confirmed with Niall nodding along in full agreement. Harry couldn’t do after school, once the bell rung, the rebel disappeared. He’d be frozen in fear and incapable of fulfilling his duty.

“Are you sure? Isn’t that when the principal makes his usual rounds?” Harry asked, lying through his teeth. Everyone knew that Principal Heeley only did rounds during lunchtime; he didn’t care about what happened after the official school day ended. It wasn’t on his watch, so he couldn’t be held liable. The suspicious question was a meek effort to derail the plan’s timing, but at least he could try.

Zayn smacked a textbook over the plans as Louis sauntered into the room, his nose buried in a book. Harry smirked at how adorable Louis was, just being himself. That’s what he found most endearing about Louis: he was unique and seemingly proud of it. As unusual as his ‘unique’ was.

“After school. It’s happening.” Zayn hissed before turning toward Louis and smiling innocently.

Harry rolled his eyes, he knew that Louis would see right through Zayn’s efforts to conceal the plan but he wouldn’t concern himself with such childish endeavors. That’s another think he liked about Louis, he was the picture of maturity. Harry wished to be just like him when he grew older.

“Good afternoon, boys.” Louis muttered, taking a moment to look up from his book as he set down his leather over the shoulder bag.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Tomlinson.” Niall addressed him with an overplayed accent and jumped to his feet to bow elaborately. Zayn erupted into a fit of laughter and Harry hesitated before joining in.

Louis simply rolled his eyes at Niall’s attempt to mock him and sat down at his desk before returning back to his book. There it was again: the confidence that Harry wished he had. If he had had the confidence that Louis exuded when he was in elementary school, he could have easily avoided entering this mess of a façade he had got himself into.

Harry rested his head in one hand, sighing in defeat as he watched the rest of the class trickle in. The bell rang and Mr. Sanders entered the room soon after giving Louis an amused look because he was sitting at his desk. Louis scrambled to his feet and winced apologetically and slipped into the usual chair that he sat at.

“Ok, class, today I will be assigning your final essay. The topic of which will be: the analysis of feminism in Shakespeare’s Othello.” Mr. Sanders began to explain as most of the class fell asleep at his first words.

Harry, already bored with Mr. Sanders, mostly because he already knew exactly what he would write, took out his phone. He looked over at Louis who was listening to his mentor intently. He was practically hanging on the old man’s every word. Harry chuckled at the image and then smiled mischievously before typing out a text to a certain tutor:

You’re clearly the teacher’s pet.

-Haz

Louis’s phone began to buzz in his bag and he turned beet red with embarrassment as he realized he didn’t turn it off. Mr. Sanders sent daggers his way before he scrambled to stop the text alert it was currently sounding off. It was probably Liam sending him a teasing text about Harry again, the guy liked to make his stupid jokes over and over again.

But instead he found a text from Harry and it sent him into a fit of frustration. He turned the phone off and threw it back to the bottom of his bag, without responding. He was going to have Harry’s head for the stunt he had pulled. Louis couldn’t even imagine if Mr. Sanders had demanded he read it out to everyone but then Louis remembered he wasn’t a student, so at least he had a little privacy entitled to him. At least he used to…

The whole class laughed at the text alert but it made them have even more respect for Louis. He was one of them. Harry watched Louis as he scrambled for his phone at the bottom of his bag and when Louis came up with a look of fury on his face, he knew he had messed up. After Mr. Sanders had continued on with the class, Harry looked over to Louis in an attempt to catch his eye to give him an apologetic look, but Louis’s eyes stayed glued on Mr. Sanders. He didn’t say even a peep all class that was totally out of character. Without Louis’s interjections, the class inched by slowly, which made Harry squirm anxiously. It was agony to have Louis ignoring him but more importantly, he wouldn’t have time to apologize before he had to rush out of the class to take his part in the prank. He had made a big mistake and he didn’t know how to make it up to Louis.

When the bell finally rung, Zayn and Niall shot out of the room, their bags having not been unpacked at all during class. Harry was shaken by the rustle of student collecting their things when he saw Louis start to make his way toward him. He didn’t have time for a confrontation right now, as much as he wanted to say ‘sorry’ to Louis one thousand times over. He winced before b-lining it out the door.

“Harry!” Louis called, in an angry tone, as the teen made his escape. But Louis was ready and willing for a pursuit. He wanted to rip Harry’s stupid little head off for embarrassing him the way he did. He was livid and he was going to confront the curly haired twit, no matter what it took. He knew he was probably causing a bit of a suspicious scene but he didn’t care. Harry was halfway down the hall when Louis emerged from the classroom. God, the kid was quick when he wanted to be, Louis thought, making him feel old in comparison.

Both were on a mission as they flew through the hallways: Harry was making his escape while Louis was on the hunt. The whole thing seemed rather primal as both their bodies were pumping with fresh and driving adrenalin. Harry felt like a meek little animal as he zigzagged through the halls. When he finally came to his destination he looked at the cage of rats and just sighed. But, he had to go through with it. Louis finally caught up to Harry just as he opened the rat cage.

“You are just a bag full of tricks today, aren’t you?” Louis spat, incredulous as the rats began to climb out of the cage and into the corridor that lead to the over pass.

Harry looked at Louis in complete defeat. He hated that Louis had to see him this way but he also hoped that the student teacher wouldn’t report back to the principal that he was essentially the start of the ruckus that had just begun. The screams echoed throughout the school as the rats made it to their destination. Harry just winced in regret and took off again, down another hallway. He just wanted to be alone with his guilt.

Louis sighed as he saw the traces of regret and pain dance across Harry’s face but then the senior ran off again. Louis jogged after him until he found Harry in a deserted hallway, with his head in his hands.

“I hate this!” Harry cried, hearing Louis’s footsteps nearing his not so discrete hiding spot. His chest was heaving as he breathed heavily. He was in a clear state of panic.

“Harry. It’s fine. Stop being overdramatic. So, you made a couple mistakes today. No big deal.” Louis assured the student, crouching down and resting a hand on his shoulder, purely out of support.

“No! It’s not that. It’s….this!” Harry protested, pointing at Louis’s hand. Louis quickly withdrew his hand as if a stray spark had burned him.

“What’s… I don’t get it.” Louis muttered, in a state of confusion.

“I can’t do it anymore, pretend to be someone I’m not. It’s frustrating. Why can’t I just be who I want to be?” Harry whined. He sounded pitiful and all Louis wanted to do was wrap his arms around the unsure teen and comfort him.

“I don’t know how to help you, Haz, because I don’t really know the real you. I mean, you play this big headed rebel at school, but… I can tell you’re not as dumb as you portray yourself to be. Your writing is so restrained, so held back, so tentative. You are intentionally censoring yourself to appear average. That’s not fair to yourself or anyone around you. You’re special, Harry, don’t be afraid to show that.” Louis explained and Harry’s breathing calmed significantly. Louis smiled lightly at Harry’s change in attitude. Harry smiled along with him.

“What are you lads doing?” Niall called which caused Louis to jump to his feet. Zayn stood a few feet behind him, breathing heavily as if they had just made a good run from the scene of the crime. Harry stumbled to his feet as well and smirked innocently.

“Louis was just telling me what an epic prank we just pulled and that he wasn’t going to tell the principal on us. Right, Lou?” Harry asked, winking and bating Louis.

Louis rolled his eyes before accepting defeat. “Yup. Hilarious.” He mumbled as Niall and Zayn high-fived each other.

Harry walked over to his friends and gave them each a punch on the shoulder. Harry was back to assuming the role he had just been so torn up about. Louis thought he’d never learn.

He shook his head as the boys departed, chastising himself for giving in to Harry’s clear manipulation. That’s when his phone buzzed again:

Thanks for the save and the advice. I owe yah one.

-Haz xx

Louis just chuckled. He could work with Harry owing him one.


	4. Chapter Four

April 2nd

“Wake up, sleepy head! We’re going for a jog!” Liam announced before bopping Louis over the head with a pillow. Louis groaned and turned away from his annoying friend.

“Leave me alone.” Louis warned, talking into his pillow.

“Nope! Time to get up and work out to look sexy for a certain student you’re obsessed with.” Liam countered, tearing the sheets and comforter away from Louis’s bed.

“What the hell, man? You have to stop bugging me about that. Seriously.” Louis spat, sitting up, his hair sticking up on the side he had been sleeping on.

Liam just chuckled to himself at Louis’s appearance and threw a workout outfit and a pair of Nike trainers. “We are running. My usual buddy dropped out and I can’t exercise without someone around to encourage me on, so let’s go!” Liam urged pleadingly.

Louis was a sucker for a lower lip, so he pulled on the outfit and tied up the trainers on his already socked feet. “I hate you.” He grumbled before a satisfied Liam led him out onto the London pavement.

“You’ll thank me for this when your body is toned and muscular rather than stickly and bony.” Liam explained, patting his friend angular shoulder. “You really should eat more.” He suggested before lunged forward as to stretch out his hamstring.

Louis heard the advice but chose to ignore it and instead began to copy exactly what Liam was doing. Liam was the aspiring physio; Louis assumed that he would know what he was doing in the warm-up department. He wouldn’t even know where to start. He had never really had an aptitude for physical activity, so he had never even really tried to learn anything about. Frankly, even thinking about it fatigued Louis.

“How long are we going for?” Louis asked, fearing that he would collapse if they went for over five minutes.

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. Just keep up a steady breathing pace and running speed. No sprinting just to show off, you need to learn to work up your stamina if we’re going to be doing this more often. I’ll take it easy on you for today.” Liam responded and Louis realized he hadn’t even really answered the question. Maybe he was clever.

Before Louis knew it, they were off. At first it wasn’t so bad, but then he began to feel his feet slamming against the pavement and he knew that would hurt later. But to his relief, Liam crossed a street and went into a park. A sign said there was a running path through it, which comforted Louis’s mind. At least he’d have something to look at as they ran, besides car and the random passerby. Fresh air never hurt anyone, did it?

Louis watched as Liam’s athletic body ripped through the air, his legs and arms moving strategically. Louis began to imitate his roommate and soon found his techniques were very effective. The more measured you were, the safer and better it felt. The trees surrounded them and Louis breathed the air deep into his lungs. He felt on top of the world as they passed over a little footbridge with a small streaming lapping underneath it.

Louis barely noticed as the time passed. Sure, his muscles ached and screamed but it was for a good reason. He could feel his lungs circulating the oxygen to his extremities to support the rigorous exercise. It was all quite satisfying and when the endorphins kicked in around the twenty-minute mark, Louis felt invincible. He increased his pace and caught up with Liam, who had consistently kept a fifty-foot lead ahead of Louis the entire time. No Louis felt competitive, he could beat his friend, the gym junkie!

“Whoa, Lou! Slow down, bud.” Liam instructed as he caught up to Louis.

“Nah, I’m good. I don’t know what you meant about the pace thing, I’m flying!” Louis cried and took off sprinting ahead of Liam. Liam just shook his head at his naïve friend.

Louis jetted right and left on the path, arms out wide like a jet plane. He felt like he had just found a missing part of his childhood that he had clearly been deprived of. That’s when he looked to the right and noticed a small café. He almost looked back at the path before he caught sight of a Harry lookalike who was reading a book at one of the tables outside the café. The curly hair, the big eyes: it was unmistakable. Louis’s heart began to race even more as his eyes stayed glued on the guy but his legs kept pedaling him forward until he ran right into a pole.

“Holy shit, Louis!” Liam called from behind as he saw Louis smack into the pole and crumble to the ground. He ran toward his daft friend and muttered a slew of curse words.

Harry looked up from his book and saw a guy run directly into a pole. He was about to chuckle when he heard a muscular brunette run toward the guy and say a name that made Harry stop in his tracks.

Louis.

It couldn’t be. Louis would never be caught working out, let alone running at the speed the runner had been before his crash. But something in Harry panicked and he had to do a further investigation, just in case. He stashed his book in his bag and threw the strap over his shoulder. He put down the money for his drink and rushed toward the scene of the accident.

Liam stared down at Louis, as he lay sprawled out on the park path. His eyelids were half open and he was clearly fighting to remain conscious. He knew not to shake or even disturb his friend because it could cause further damage, so he kept his space but was on close watch. Louis’s forehead was split open and bleeding profusely on the pavement, Liam dabbed at it lightly with his workout shirt and breathed shallowly in a state of anxiety. What is Louis was actually hurt? It would be his entirefault for inviting the less than capably athletic guy out on a run. He had just wanted some company and now because of his selfishness, his friend was almost passed out.

Louis was in agony and could feel something sticky trickling down his nose from his forehead. How had he fallen so fast from feeling so high? Oh wait. He had been distracted. Yes, but by what? Something beautiful. Something beautiful had made him fall. Oh, how it hurt. The darkness reached for him, intoxicating him with its easy escape but he knew somewhere deep down that he had to fight it. He had to go toward the not so comfortable light. It was like crawling up a slide that was at a 90-degree angle. Clawing and clawing his way up.

Harry ran up to the two guys and saw the athletic one leaning over the one of the ground, looking dreadfully concerned. The difference in their size was almost comical but Harry was far past finding anything amusing. He felt in his stomach that it was Louis. When he neared, he found himself correct. Louis was laying on the pavement, limbs astray and blood running down his forehead. Harry could deduct that Louis’s head is where made the initial and strongest contact. This fact made him even more worried as he walked up to them. His heart was pounding with worry when he murmured, “What happened?”

Liam peered over his shoulder and saw a curly haired teen looking as if he had just seen a ghost. The kid had asked him a question and his eyes were so fixed on Louis that Liam figured the kid knew Louis in some way.

“He was, uh, looking at something and running way too fast. He smacked right into the pole before I could even warn him. Sorry. Who are you?” Liam asked, trying to be as polite as possible. His nerves were raging but something about the kid comforted him and made him feel patient.

Harry hesitated for a moment. He wanted to help but he couldn’t figure out who this guy was to Louis. Was he his brother? Or was he his boyfriend? Harry didn’t want to impose on anything so he answered, “Um, my name’s Harry. I’m one of Louis’s students.”

Liam almost started laughing. He should’ve recognized from the way that Harry was looking at Louis before, Harry was the student Louis was involved with. Liam saw Louis’s interest: the kid was adorable, in a sort of unreadable way. Liam collected himself from the thought and asked, “Harry, I hate that we had to meet this way. But, do you have a phone?”

Harry, without another word, passed Liam his cell phone. He barely listened as Liam dialed the emergency line and asked for paramedics to come to their location. Harry was in a trance as he reached down toward Louis’s head, wetting his fingertips with Louis’s warm blood. He pulled back, stifled with fear. He had never seen someone he cared about in such a condition. It was frightening.

Liam put a supportive hand on Harry’s shoulder. “They’ll be here in under five minutes. I described his condition to the paramedics and they said he’d be fine. Probably just a minor concussion.” Liam explained, in hope to comfort Harry.

“I don’t like seeing him like this. So vulnerable, yah know?” Harry muttered, not caring that he barely knew Liam. The guy looked trustworthy enough and Harry needed to share with someone or his mind was going to explode.

He had read somewhere that head injuries could cause brain hemorrhaging and flood the skull cavity. This could result in major problems if it wasn’t tended to immediately. But this is where Harry’s own brain became a problem. He couldn’t stop the thoughts from plaguing his mind. He wanted to be positive. To know that Louis was okay. He wanted to trust Liam’s words but he just couldn’t. He needed to know for sure that Louis was okay. He barely understood how his attachment to the teacher’s assistant had grown so quickly. It was shocking. It was debilitating. He wanted to be free of the worry. But there Louis was, strewn across the pavement and all he could do was worry.

“He does. But doesn’t he always?” Liam joked and it should’ve been inappropriate if it wasn’t so true. It made Harry smile and he suddenly very much enjoyed Liam’s presence. There was more to the guy then met the naked eye: if you looked past the initial brawn, he actually had some important things to say.

Harry and Liam fell into a comfortable silence until the paramedics arrived. “Just wait here.” Liam instructed as he rushed off to outline to the paramedics what had happened. Any information that could help them with Louis was vital and Harry knew that. These were the moments that made the difference.

Louis was transferred onto a gurney and Liam hopped into the back of the ambulance after Louis was inside. “Aren’t you coming?” Liam called to Harry. Without a second thought, Louis jumped inside the ambulance and they were on their way to the hospital.

He looked down at Louis as the paramedics tended to his whatever they needed to. “It’s going to be okay, Lou.” Harry whispered.

Louis felt himself lift for a moment and then fall again. He was moving, as if down a river. And then he heard a machine far away but ever so close. If he could just reach that final length of the slide, he’d be free, free of the tempting darkness. And then a voice that felt so comfortingly said to him ‘it’s going to be okay’ and he just had to trust it.


	5. Chapter Five

April 2nd

 

Liam and Harry were sitting next to each other in the waiting room; Louis was still in the half-conscious state he had been before. The doctors said he would be completely fine; he just needed rest now. The problem was that because he was caught between states, he couldn’t possibly get the rest he needed. They tried pumping him with adrenalin but nothing seemed to be working.

“I just want to see him.” Harry muttered just loud enough for Liam to hear. He didn’t like being in the hospital, it was one of his biggest fears. He had a hard time trusting that Louis was in trustworthy hands but anytime he started to shake or fret, Liam was there to comfort with kind words and hopeful smile. Liam’s presence was probably one of the sole reasons that Harry was still keeping it together.

“I know, Harry, we just have to be patient. Okay?” Liam reminded him, in a kind voice. Harry’s worry was steady but slightly calmed by Liam’s words.

A doctor walked up to them and Harry and Liam stood up, in hope of some good news. “We’ve been trying everything. Our last resort is for one of you to try to talk him out of whatever state he is in. There’s a slim chance that it’ll work but we might as well try. Familiarity and comfort can sometimes be the best triggers for coming out of these sort of things.” The doctor explained, beckoning the two boys to follow him to Louis’s room.

Harry felt something inside him spark as he heard the doctor’s speaking: he knew he had to wake up Louis. He followed the doctor without a question and when they arrived at Louis’s room, the doctor pushed the door open slowly. Liam’s eyes were fixed on Louis but he didn’t make any move to go into the room. He locked eyes with Harry and nodded, “You have to do this alone.”

Harry didn’t object. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Louis’s eyes were half open and looked in a deep state of concentration. Harry could see that Louis was fighting his best, but he needed something else. Harry hoped he would be the answer to wake Louis from the inbetween state.

He put one hand on Louis’s forearms and looked at the bandages covering the older guy’s head. He will be fine, Harry assured himself, he just needs your help. Harry breathed deeply and attempted to center himself, it was hard to do with all the worry and thoughts flying around in his head. But when he finally did so, he knew exactly what to say:

“Louis, we’ve only known each other for a couple weeks and yet you already have made such a mark on my life. You see right through the façade that I play at school. You give me the courage and hope to maybe one day be comfortable with being who I am. You’re inspiring.” He whispered, running his fingertips along Louis’s arm.

Caught. But the voice is back. The voice that will pull him up onto the plateau and save him from falling over the edge. It’s so close and yet so far. It’s taunting but yet inviting. Louis makes the final, hopeful grasp and finally finds a place for a steady hand to go. He pulls himself up and faces the sunlight.

Harry gasped as Louis’s eyes fluttered open. Harry jumped back, in utter shock; he seriously didn’t think it would be that easy of a fix, but his words did the trick.

Louis coughed and then his eyes focused on the boy who had caused the accident. Silly little Haz. And yet, he couldn’t have been more delighted to see Harry. Harry smiled and neared Louis once again.

“Hi…” Louis choked out, reaching up to touch the bandages wrapping around his head.

“Hey. Take it easy.” Harry instructed, taking hold of Louis’s hand lightly and putting down next to Louis’s side.

“What the hell happened?” Louis asked, his head suddenly throbbing with pain but it subsided soon enough.

“You ran into a pole, you idiot.” Harry explained, smiling wickedly.

“Of course. And I bet you were all concerned about my wellbeing when I was out.” Louis teased. He could do banter if Harry wanted banter.

“I missed my opponent. It takes to two to play a game.” Harry snapped but the blush on his cheeks contradicted his words.

April 6th

Louis was out of the hospital. He had suffered a minor concussion because of the accident but had managed to rebound immensely well. The doctors had been very surprised but with the daily visits from Liam and Harry, he had a great support team that led him to a swift recovery. He was ready to return home within three days of entering the hospital but was required to be on bed right for another three. He was eager to get back to school and resume his teacher’s assistant duties but both Mr. Sanders and Harry had threatened against it. He needed his time to ‘repair’ himself according to them. Liam had apologized a countless amount of time over the last couple days and every time Louis reminded his roommate that it was his fault for getting distracted and not Liam’s for asking him to go for a run. It was an accident, it happens.

The upside to being confined in his apartment was that Harry and Louis were still having their tutoring sessions but Louis didn’t even need to move from his bed. Harry babied him and didn’t want to lift a physical finger, so if Louis needed anything, he had it in seconds. Harry’s progress was very inspiring. Louis barely had to translate anything for the senior anymore; he was coming up with the paraphrasing for the Elizabethan language all on his own. They had started planning out Harry’s Othello essay by creating an outline and Harry had even come up with his own thesis already. Louis was beginning to think that his help would soon become obsolete; Harry sure was a fast learner.

Harry was trying his best to still feign incompetency but he couldn’t help himself sometimes. He loved the topic of the essay and already had thousands of ideas about how to write the essay. He only had another month or so to carry on the façade and he didn’t even know if he wanted to do it for that long. After their last prank, Niall and Zayn had already begun to plan their grad prank and Harry wanted nothing to do with the nonsense. He didn’t want there to be a chance of expulsion right before he graduated, all this effort would prove redundant if that happened. Not to mention, the disappointment Louis would have if that did happen. Harry would just have to lie to his friends about his parents forcing him to buckle down and concentrate on his academics. He knew the conversation wouldn’t go over well, but it just had to be done.

Harry missed having Louis at school. The class seemed to miss him too because they became restless when Mr. Sanders announced the accident. A group of girls even made Louis a collection of ‘get-well’ cards that made Harry roll his eyes. They passed them off to Harry because they knew that Louis was tutoring him, outside of school hours. Harry had no intention of passing them on, out of jealousy or not, he planned to throw them in a trash bin as soon as he left school for Louis’s.

The bell rang and Niall and Zayn made their way toward Harry. Harry sighed but decided to indulge his borderline delinquent friends.

“How’s Louis doing, man?” Niall asked and Harry was taken aback. Zayn looked equally as concerned as the blond asked the question. It was unlike his two friends to have a care in the world, even more so about a teacher. Louis was making more of an impression on the class than Harry had realized.

Harry tried to hide his surprise but Zayn registered it and commented: “We heard that you were there when it happened. There’s a rumor going around about it, that you rode in the ambulance and everything.”

This made Harry panic. His two worlds were melting together and he didn’t like it one bit. They were meant to be entirely separate and now somehow they were mixing. Harry sighed and collected himself; another student had probably been in the park and had seen it happen. There was no reason for him to be paranoid: it was just a random occurrence.

“Um, that’s true. I was in the park when Louis ran into the pole. I recognized him and went over to help. It’s just a minor concussion. He’ll be better in a couple of days.” Harry answered, more formerly than he should have, Zayn and Niall weren’t used to him being serious. Ever.

“And… how was the ride in the ambulance? Was there blood?” Niall asked, a wicked look of intrigue dancing in his eyes. His friend’s macabre interest for gore made Harry laugh. Niall would probably make a great paramedic; nothing seemed to irk him, even in the slightest.

“It doesn’t matter if there was blood, Niall. As long as he’s fine, we’re happy for him.” Zayn noted, flicking his friend in the back of the head for his insensitivity. This was a side of Zayn that Harry had never seen. Maybe they too had different personalities once the bell rung. Niall huffed stubbornly and crossed his arms. Harry smiled at Niall’s frustration before Zayn continued: “Give him our best, Harry.”

“Or your best.” Niall joked, giving Harry a suggestive wink. This earned him a slap in the back of the head from Zayn. Niall looked up at Zayn like a puppy that had just been kicked. Harry would normally laugh at the exchange besides the fact that Niall had just insuated that something was going on between Harry and Louis. Either his friends were more perceptive than he realized or Niall was just making a stupid joke. Either way, Harry was frozen with fear.

“I’ve got to go.” He muttered before racing out of the classroom and down the hallway. When his phone buzzed he almost dropped it out of sheer shock. He caught it and fumbled to get it open while still making his escape from his friend’s presumptions.

You coming over today? Liam’s at school and I’m lonely without my servant!

-Lou

Harry laughed as he continued out of the school and onto the sidewalk that lead to Louis’s apartment. Harry certainly wasn’t anyone’s ‘servant’ but he really would do anything to try to get Louis to feel better, he hated seeing him bedridden like that.

Number 1: I’m on my way. Number 2: I’m not your servant.

-Haz

Louis smiled at Harry’s response. The senior really could have an attitude, but it was different from when he was snarky at school, this was more of sassiness. Louis always found it highly amusing.

Key is under the mat, as always. Let yourself in.

-Lou

Louis sipped on his tea that Liam had made for him before he left and snuggled into his bed until Harry’s arrived, which was only a couple minutes later, twirling the spare key in his hand.

“You know, you can keep that if you want.” Louis commented innocently and Harry arched his eyebrow and smirked in response. Louis rolled his eyes, “That’s not what I meant, Haz.”

Harry laughed triumphantly. He loved to make Louis feel uncomfortable. It was all part of their game. Harry pushed the limits as far as he could manage and saw how Louis would react. Louis usually dug himself a hole by a slip of the tongue anyway. The score was currently Louis: 0, Harry: 1, as it usually was. Harry always seemed to have the upper hand on their relationship, and because of this, Louis could never predict what the senior would do next. In this case, all he did was sit down and spread his books out on the desk beside Louis’s bed. Louis couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed.

“Oh, so it’s a get down to business type of day, eh?” Louis asked, watching as Harry went through the Othello text and began to highlight certain quotes he wanted for his essay.

“It is.” Harry responded. He wanted to get lost in his work today, not get lost in Louis’s eyes. People knew that something was going between he and Louis and he didn’t want rumors to continue. Their game was private but if it became public knowledge, he knew he wouldn’t want to play anymore. Not because he was ashamed of it but because of his reputation at school, not to mention Louis’s career was at stake. Today was a workday.

Louis sat in silence. He wasn’t used to Harry being so focused on his work, it seemed totally out of character. What felt like a second ago, he had been engaging in the usual bantery flirting but now, Harry seemed to want nothing to do with Louis. It was discouraging but also alienating for Louis. He had never felt this far from Harry before and he didn’t know how to acknowledge it without making thing weird between them. That was the problem, they were both willing participants in the game but it was like Fight Club: you don’t talk about it.

Louis was deeply confused as he watched Harry work on his own for a good fifteen minutes. Every minute felt like another agonizing hour inching by and Louis could feel the anxiety building inside him. Their relationship had never been trying; it had also never been crystal clear but Louis had never felt as lost as this.

What was Harry thinking? Had Louis done something wrong? Did he cross some sort of unspoken line with the key thing? Why did this hurt so much…. This confusion?

Harry was in the zone. He was working at his full operating potential and he didn’t care what was going on around him. This was the life. He only had ever been able to work like this in private but somehow he was comfortable enough around Louis to work like this. He knew that once he was done his train of thought, Louis would congratulate him on his great concentration and work ethic. Maybe work was the escape that Harry needed to access more often. Who needed human contact when you could produce such a massive output completely on your own? When his whirlwind of thought came to an end, Harry looked up at Louis with a proud smile on his face. He was startled to see Louis with a look of concern and agony on his face.

“Whoa. Uh… what’s wrong?” Harry asked, at a loss about what Louis could possibly be upset about.

Louis almost started crying. It was frustrating how oblivious Harry was of his feelings and his confusion. It was painful to see how little the senior could see; the hurt that he was putting Louis through.

“Nothing. I’m just… I don’t get you.” Louis explained, with a disturbing calm to his voice.

“That doesn’t make any sense. What don’t you get about me?” Harry asked, starting to get frustrated with Louis. He crossed his arms defensively.

“Everything. Sometimes I feel like I know you so well and the next… you’re unreadable and dangerously unpredictable.” Louis snapped, letting his emotions take over his voice.

Harry was incredulous. Louis clearly didn’t understand what he was going through. All this contradiction and confusion he was feeling couldn’t begin to match what Harry was experiencing. It wasn’t fair for Louis to get upset at him when he knew nothing about him.

“Don’t call me dangerous. That makes it sound like I’m some evil force or something. Stop pretending you’re going through something like I am. You have no idea, not even the slightest!” Harry cried, before collecting his things with a swipe of his arm. He stormed out of the apartment, blocking out Louis’s protests as he left.

Louis was supposed to be a sanctuary; somewhere Harry could go to be himself without any judgment. Well, that was a thing of the past for the way that Louis was looking at him, Harry felt like their relationship would never be the same again. He hated that. He didn’t want a therapy session. He just wanted a friend who he could play games with. He wanted to have fun.

But now, it was complicated.


End file.
